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Austin Butler and Kaia Gerber, who share a 10-year age gap, reportedly broke up after dating for over three years. In the wake of the supposed split, an old photo depicting Austin’s former girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens meeting Kaia when she was a child surfaced online.
The viral photo is from the red carpet of Vanessa’s film High School Musical 2 premiere that took place in Anaheim, California on August 14, 2007. Vanessa was 18 at the time. Cindy Crawford attended the event with her son Presley Walker Gerber and daughter Kaia Gerber.
The viral image shows Vanessa shaking hands with a six-year-old Kaia on the red carpet as Crawford and Presley stand next to them.
Vanessa Hudgens, who is about three years older than Austin Butler, began dating the actor in 2011. They ended their romance in 2020, after nearly nine years of togetherness.
The resurfaced photo of Vanessa and Kaia further fueled the discussion of Austin and the now-23-year-old model's age gap.
As reports of Austin and Kaia's possible split circulated online, one Reddit user @u/Dida_D brought up Vanessa and Kaia's 2007 interaction under the subgroup @r/Fauxmoi.
Another user proceeded to post the picture in the comments, leading to a series of reactions from others.
One Reddit user compared the photo with a 2015 SNL sketch titled "Meet Your Second Wife". Amy Poehler and Tina Fey acted as hosts of a show where 30-year-old married men were introduced to their future second wives.
The skit aimed to mock or criticize relationships between older men and younger women, who were likely toddlers or teenagers while the men had already entered adulthood.
Some explained Austin Butler, Vanessa Hudgens, and Kaia Gerber's respective ages when the former couples began dating.
A few others joked they had the breakup of couples with significant age gaps on their bingo cards. One user also mentioned British actor Aaron Taylor-Johnson and his wife Sam Taylor-Johnson who have a 23-year age gap.
Sam and Aaron began dating in 2009 when the actor was merely 19 and the filmmaker was in her early 40s.
Another user joked about the possibility of Austin Butler's next partner also being 10 years younger than him, and someone who had met Vanessa Hudgens in the past.
Austin Butler and Kaia Gerber reportedly end their romance after nearly 3 years of dating
Austin Butler and Kaia Gerber were first linked in December 2021 after they were captured together at a yoga class. They were 30 and 20 at the time, respectively. The pair were spotted together again on Valentine's Day in February 2022 in Paris as they cozied up under an umbrella.
Austin and Kaia confirmed their relationship through their red carpet debut at the Met Gala on May 2, 2022. In December of that year, Austin joined Kaia's family in Mexico for a New Year vacation. The Elvis star spent a few more getaways with Kaia Gerber and her family.
They also attended several award ceremonies and their afterparties together, including the Golden Globes and Oscars. However, towards the end of 2024, both Kaia and Austin Butler attended several events solo.
Reports claim Austin did not join Kaia's family for their annual vacation either. Eventually, on Tuesday, January 6, reports broke out that the couple had broken up.
